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Hello Tweaktown members - hoping for a little help with a problem I've been trying to solve all night :S

Just bought a new Sapphire Radeon HD6950 2GB card to replace the current Radeon HD4890 I was using and for some reason it is not recognised by my Z68 Pro3 motherboard. Fans turn on, computer passes POST and boots into windows but I just get no video output. Internal graphics work fine and re-installing the HD4890 also works fine.

I have tried the HD6950 in another intel motherboard I have (ASUS P5B) as well as a friends ASUS P5N32-E SLI PLUS and it works fine so am sure the card is 100% ok. I have also tested with a more powerful Corsair AX750 to make sure it wasn't power issue - just seems to be a compatibility issue?

I've tried just about every iteration on the northbridge configuration screen without success, it just doesn't seem to see the card is installed as it simply doesn't output video or appear in the device manager in windows (plugging a DVI cable into the internal gfx connections will work even if PCI-E is set to primary and PCI-e card is installed.)

I'm guessing the reason it can still boot into windows with the 6950 installed is because the card isn't detected on POST and it switches to internal graphics as a contingency.

Sry your having so much troubles !! I've got some weird one that support is working on as well,...my first Asrock mobo. Very finicky on graphics I'm finding out !! Anyway, lets try this,...if you have'nt already, have you tried a HDMI cable from your video card to your monitor ? The reason I ask is just to try another output source from the card ! Also get DriverSweeper a free app. the you can use in safe mode to wipe out all of the Ati drivers and do a clean install , while your in safe mode install the latest drivers !! Also the HD6950 is a power hog, so I think the main problem your running into is your power supply is under rated for this card , .... you need at least a 750 Watt pwr sup with at least 30 amps on the 12 volt rails !!! I now believe this to be your trouble !! Can you get another pwr supply to try ?? Also you can cet one from Microcenter.com and if that does'nt do it you have 30 day to return it, but I truly believe this is you problem !! Let me know !! Take a look at this link for further recommendations . http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon...6970-review/11

Thanks for your efforts on helping with this. Unfortunately the reason why I was working on this for so long last night was because I was swapping various pieces of hardware to eliminate the possible causes.

The Corsair 520W supply I have is certified by ATI as working for this card, to be sure though I have tried it with a Corsair AX750 (750W) PSU and it still didn't work yet it works with both PSU's when I use the ASUS motherboard. My XFX 4890 OC Editiion has the same power requirements as the 6950 yet it boots fine and is completely stable so I think I have eliminated power as a cause.

Unfortunately this isn't a driver issue as it isn't even detected at post, before windows is loaded. I can't even use the computer unless I am using the onboard GPU.

I tried using the HDMI slot and connecting to my lcd TV and there was no output still unfortunately. I don't have any compatible display device to check the DP port.

Bottom line is, if I plug it into my ASUS mobo with 1 stick of RAM, CPU, either 520 or 750W PSU and no drives it works. Using the same configuration but just swapping the mobo to the ASRock it doesn't work regardless of BIOS settings, updating to latest 1.6 BIOS and clearing the CMOS etc.

pm emily for a beta bios to try,have you tried reflashing the bios but untick "keep dmi pool data" just before you flash? it might help in detecting your gpu,howmany pci-e slots do you have? tried it in another slot to rule out dead/faulty pci-e slot?

He's right,....I took his suggestion and did that and my problem that I had is now solved !! Sry for getting back to you so late my brother, but I'll tell you this, my problem was solved with a simple BIOS reset to defaults . Not sure if this will solve yours, but I know this....it just saved my but from wiping , and reformatting my C drive and starting over and having to put all my programs and stuff back in !!! Might be worth a try !! Hope this helps !! If not,... for sure contact Emily, shes real good and very polite to work with , unlike others that I tried to get help from..... wazza300 excluded !! Good luck, and let me know how you make out !! Blackhawk

Wanted to make sure I replied the outcome on here as I hate it when a thread goes stale before the solution was posted!

Turns out the graphics card is the problem as I bought an MSI P67A-GD53 motherboard today and the same problem occurred. Really weird as it still works if I put it in the much older ASUS board.
My fired has the same 6950 gfx card so I asked if I could fit it to his rig and it didn't work either (1 long beep 2 short = video card issue) so it's definitely the card.